Police still investigating cause of fatal crash into lake

Police still investigating cause of fatal crash into lake

Photo by Nikki Wesley — Burlington Post

Firefighters waded into Lake Ontario near the foot of Walker's Line last Saturday morning (Oct. 19) to retrieve the body of a 21-year-old Burlington man. The man died when his car went over the curb at Lakeshore Road, drove through a parkette and crashed into the water below in the early hours of Saturday.

Halton Regional Police is still trying to determine why a young man died after the car he was driving left a Burlington roadway at a high rate speed, mounted a curb, plowed through a parkette and flew over a cliff into Lake Ontario last weekend.

The Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) of Halton police is investigating the fatal accident, believed to have occurred around 2 a.m. last Saturday (Oct. 19).

The early morning collision claimed the life of a 21-year-old Burlington man. Police say the victim has been identified but they are not releasing the name.

Investigators say the vehicle, a 2007 Volkswagen, was southbound on Walker’s Line, south of Lakeshore Road, when it mounted the curb at the dead end, traveled through a small park, went through a chainlink fence and plunged into the lake below.

Det.-Sgt. Paul Davies of the CRU estimated the car was travelling 130 km/h in the residential area when it left the roadway.

It passed through about 40 metres (130 feet) of parkland before going over the edge, passing over the tops of trees down below and flying beyond a breakwall before hitting the water.

There was no indication of braking at any point, said Davies.

It wasn’t until almost eight hours later, around 9:45 a.m., that police were called to the foot of Walker’s Line after a resident, whose home is beside the parkette, looked out a window and saw a vehicle upside down in the lake.

The car ended up about 40 metres from shore.

Burlington firefighters retrieved the lone body found in the vehicle around 10:15 a.m. No one else is believed to have been in the car.

It wasn’t until around 9 p.m. that night the car was able to be removed from the water by a tow truck with a long boom, due to the inaccessibility of the area.

Walker’s Line was closed south of Lakeshore for eight hours while the CRU investigated. The Halton police Marine Unit assisted in the recovery operation.

Davies said two homeowners near the parkette both heard loud booms around 2 a.m., with one reporting it shook their house. They reported looking out their windows but saw nothing. Neither homeowner called police.

An autopsy on the victim was done yesterday (Tuesday). Police are awaiting toxicology results.

Investigators do not suspect foul play, said Davies.

Detectives have interviewed the man’s family, friends and girlfriend and are trying to piece together his last movements and learn more about his state of mind that evening.

Davies said they have gleaned some information about the victim’s whereabouts before the accident through a cellphone trace. He was in the area of Pearson airport in Toronto earlier that night and also had been speaking to a friend on his cellphone.

Anyone with information about the accident should call the CRU at 905-634-1831, ext. 5420.